LSI

Upcoming Trainings
July 26th, 2010

 
Greetings LSI Grantees and Partners!
 
The Lake Superior Initiative is already looking ahead to fall with a variety of great training opportunities.  We're also taking the show on the road to the Iron Range and North Shore;  watch for more information in the coming weeks.
  
 
 
Mentor Match Roundtable
 
Topic:  Resource Sharing: What You Have and What You Need
Date:  Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Time:  12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Location:  Ordean Building, Room B/C
Cost:  FREE!  Pre-registration is required. 
 
The Mentor Match Roundtable is an informal forum for nonprofit agencies to meet with one another and a skilled professional from the community to exchange ideas, advice, and motivation.
 
Relationships are a key way to open doors to new information and resources for your organization. This month, we will be hosting a facilitated discussion on resource sharing. This venue will provide your organization with an opportunity to connect with your nonprofit colleagues to help cultivate relationships and share your organization's assets and needs. Some of the resources your organization may require or can afford to offer could be items such as: meeting space, best practices, equipment, staff-time, partnerships, laminating machines, and much more.  

To sign up, please email Nicole Haenke at nhaenke@unitedwayduluth.org. Bring a lunch and be prepared to discuss the topic of the day.
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LSIUniversity of Wisconsin-Superior
 
Effective Strategies for Increasing Your Earned Income

 
Date:  Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Time:  9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location:  Canal Park Lodge (250 Canal Park Drive, Duluth, MN)
Cost:   $79 per person, includes lunch. 
 
This workshop is made possible by the Lake Superior Initiative and is offered to LSI grantees on a complimentary basis.  Grantees must indicate their grant status upon registering.
 
 
Should our nonprofit get into the business of earning money?  Do we have the expertise and capacity to sell any products or services?  What kind of business activities would make sense for us?  Will this help us diversify our funding?

This interactive workshop addresses these and other questions about social enterprises, also known as nonprofit ventures, earned income projects, and social businesses.  This session will include case studies of social enterprisers who have developed successful (and not so successful) social enterprises, provide an overview of best practices, and will include an exercise to help you determine whether social enterprise makes sense for your organization.  

This session will also deliver some of the "nuts and bolts" of how to "do" social enterprise/earned income activities.  We will discuss where to look for good venture ideas, how to test feasibility, and how to do "just enough" business planning to launch a social enterprise.  Come prepared to learn how to apply this to your organization, when to say "yes" and when to say "no" to suggestions to grow earned income in your nonprofit.  Be prepared to roll up your sleeves!
 
Rolfe Larson is a nationally known author, trainer and consultant.  His book, Venture Forth!  The Essential Guide to Starting A Moneymaking Business in Your Nonprofit Organization, has been widely recognized as the most practical, useful guide on how to develop successful earned income strategies.  Venture Forth!  was endorsed by Paul Newman of Newman's Own.   Rolfe is the president of Rolfe Larson Associates, a marketing, strategic planning and business development consultant located in Denver. 

 
To register, please call (715) 394-8469 or email jmcdonou@uwsuper.edu.
   
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits 
 
Presenting Financial Reports to the Board
 
Date:  Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Time:  9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location:  Arrowhead Center (505 S. 12th Ave. #1), Virginia, MN
Cost: $25 for MCN member / $35 for nonmembers /  FREE for current LSI grantees 
 
The nonprofit board of directors has ultimate fiscal responsibility for your organization. This workshop will help you understand how the board uses financial information, and how staff can support the board's oversight role through the format, content, and presentation of financial information. Learn to evaluate board members' financial capacity and train them to understand the unique rules and conditions of nonprofit finance. Discuss how to improve the flow of financial information between staff and board so that the board can provide effective oversight and strategic planning.

Presenter Phil Hatlie of the Nonprofit Assistance Fund has served as a Director of Finance and Administration for the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and as the Director of Operations for the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA).This workshop is part of Nonprofits Assistance Fund's Practical Financial Management series, helping staff with financial responsibilities to develop the management skills necessary for savvy planning and strategic decision making.
 
LSI Grantees interested in attending this training must sign-up by emailing Nicole Haenke at nhaenke@unitedwayduluth.org in order to have their registration covered.
 
 
To register through the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, visit their online registration.
  
 
University of Wisconsin-Superior 

Nonprofit Administration/Human Resources Seminars
 
Topic:  Volunteer Management, Recruitment, and Retention
Date:  September 22, 2010
Time:  9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Location:  University of Wisconsin Superior Campus, Yellowjacket Union 204
Cost:  $119 ($105 if you are enrolled in the certificate program or an LSI Grantees)
 
Topic:  Intro to Grantwriting: Understanding the Formula for Success!
Date:  September 23, 2010
Time:  9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Location:  University of Wisconsin Superior Campus, Yellowjacket Union 204
Cost:  $119 ($105 if you are enrolled in the certificate program or an LSI Grantees)
 
Topic:  Building and Effective Board
Date:  September 24, 2010
Time:  9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Location:  University of Wisconsin Superior Campus, Yellowjacket Union 204
Cost:  $119 ($105 if you are enrolled in the certificate program or an LSI Grantees)
 
Current LSI grantees can receive discounts on these trainings!  To take advantage of this special pricing, please register by emailing jmcdonou@uwsuper.edu or calling (751) 394-8469.  Be sure to mention that you are an LSI grantee when you register.
 
For all others, register by visiting www.uwsuper.edu/seminars or calling (715) 394-8469.
SAVE THE DATE!  
  
On November 18th, Lake Superior Initiative will be hosting Leslie Crutchfield, co-author of Forces for Good.  This presentation will discuss the practices of high-impact nonprofits and how stakeholders can influence success.  It is geared towards nonprofit staff, business leaders, and our partners in the community.  This training will be FREE to the community!
 
More information and registration will be available later in the summer.
Questions, comments, or training topics you would like to see offered in Northeastern Minnesota?  Please contact Cameron Kruger at ckruger@unitedwayduluth.org or call (218) 726-4781.